DENVER — Colorado State Rep. Lori Saine (R-Firestone) said black people and white people were lynched in nearly equal numbers in the years following the Civil War because of their political affiliation.
Saine made the comments when she spoke on the House floor last week during a resolution honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
She posted the video to her legislative Facebook page on Monday, at the same time Denver's Marade was happening.
“We have come a long way on that arc since the Reconstruction, when whites and blacks alike were in nearly equal numbers lynched for the crime of being Republican,” she said.
She made the comment early on in an address meant to commemorate King. While speaking of the civil rights leader’s push for equality and love of God, she went on to say she felt obligated to address an injustice within the chamber.
“My colleagues, how can you redeem your marginalized voice by marginalized ours? Our march toward justice is not over, when a colleague is barred from introducing a resolution on this floor, because of the color of her skin. Our march of justice is not over when a member of this body, who represents Americans of all races, creeds and religions is told that Martin Luther King is does not represent her heritage?” Saine said.
In the caption of her Facebook post, Saine wrote that her colleague, State Rep. Perry Buck (R-Windsor) was not permitted to introduce a resolution honoring King on that day “because, among other discriminatory comments, King ‘didn’t represent her heritage.’”
Buck is one of dozens of co-sponsors behind House Joint Resolution 19-1006, which commemorated King’s birthday. State Representatives Jovan Melton (D-Aurora) and Leslie Herod (D-Denver) were the primary sponsors. The resolution passed unanimously after both representatives introduced it, but all lawmakers were able to speak following the vote.
Buck addressed the House floor about 50 minutes before Saine.
“Absolutely just honored and delighted to be a co-sponsor of this,” she said. "I want to go on record today, that I truly say that I love each and every one of you, no matter what side of the aisle you're on.”
Buck has not returned multiple phone calls and texts since Monday seeking answers to what Saine has brought up.
Herod told Next she wanted to introduce the legislation because she wanted to use the opportunity to pay tribute to Wilma Webb, a former state representative who’s credited with making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a holiday in Colorado. Herod said over the phone that she found Buck’s address to be eloquent, and in a follow-up interview, she expressed that Saine’s addressed missed the mark.
“That comment is completely absurd and off base. We know our history and if you don't, we need to reeducate you because that is simply not the case,” Herod told Next. "Lynchings happened in this country because of race. Yes, white people were lynched too, and it was because of their affiliation, typically, to those who were people of color, or their allyship, and we have to honor that and remember that, as well."
WATCH: Full video of the session
On Tuesday, before we were able to ask any questions, Saine texted political reporter Marshall Zelinger that she would provide a statement. He replied that he wanted to know "Do you stand by your statement that blacks were lynched because of their political affiliation and not their race?"
Saine did not answer that question in her statement:
“The story here is that one of my colleagues in the Black Caucus denied Rep. Buck the opportunity to introduce a resolution honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Rep. Buck was denied sponsorship solely because of the color of her skin.
My statement on the floor of the Colorado House recognized that black and white people were maimed, tortured, and lynched in alarming numbers defending the freedoms won in the Civil War, especially during the reconstruction era. These rights were not fully realized for African Americans until Americans of all races stood together again in non-violent protest against the evils of Jim Crow.”
Statistics from the Tuskegee Institute said there were 1,297 lynchings of white people from 1882 to 1968, compared to 3,446 lynchings of black people in the same period. The The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) gives the same data, adding that it’s a difference of 27.3 percent to 72.7 percent.